FERNALD HILL 1870 (PE1896)
State: ME
County: Hancock
Quad: Southwest Harbor
Location: N 44° 18.130' W068° 18.858'
Elevation: 121 ft.
Designation: FERNALD HILL 1870
Setting: Outcropping Bedrock
Type: Triangulation Station
Year: 1870
Established By: NGS
Recovered: 10 September 2007
Rich surprised me on this drizzly day by suggesting that we do a simple hike to Fernald Hill. The FERNALD HILL tri-station was near the bottom of our list because it has already been found by so many geocachers; still, the promise of doing a complete and careful recovery always tempts us. In addition, most geocachers were simply finding one or both of the reference marks and not the station itself, which is an admittedly difficult-to-spot copper bolt.
First we found the two reference mark disks; they stand out well against the bare rock ledge. Using the adjusted coordinates and our keen eyes, we worked our way back to the station bolt without too much trouble. It's in good shape considering its age and the number of feet that have no doubt tramped over it throughout the past century. We noted that the box score does not include distances and directions between the station mark and reference disks, so we decided to provide them ourselves. The problem? We had no measuring tape with us today! We took painstaking, though probably still crude, measurements with Rich's pole [...] and translated them to feet/meters when we returned to our room in the evening.
A report on the condition of this mark has been submitted to NGS, along with the following recovery note:
The station and both reference marks were recovered in good condition. The marks are located along the Flying Mountain Trail in Acadia National Park. The 1934 to-reach is accurate.
Reference mark 1 is approximately 8.7 feet (2.65 meters) from the station at 26 degrees magnetic. Reference mark 2 is approximately 6.8 feet (2.07 meters) from the station at 86 degrees magnetic.
Handheld GPS WAAS-corrected coordinates for RM 1 are 44 18 07.9(N) 068 18 51.4(W). Handheld GPS WAAS-corrected coordinates for RM 2 are 44 18 07.9(N) 068 18 51.3(W).
Zhanna
NGS Official Description, 1902 (see datasheet for recent updates) :
DESCRIBED BY COAST AND GEODETIC SURVEY 1902 ON THE HIGH HILL OF THAT NAME, ALSO KNOWN AS FLYING MOUNTAIN, LOCATED ON THE W SIDE OF THE NARROWS OF SOMES SOUND, MOUNT DESERT ISLAND, ABOUT 1/4 MILE TO THE NORTHWARD OF FERNALD COVE. THE STATION IS ON THE SOUTHERN PART OF THE HILL, 22 FEET S OF THE HIGHEST POINT AND 11 FEET W FROM THE EDGE OF THE BLUFF. IT IS A COPPER BOLT SET IN A HOLE IN A ROCK.
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...NGS Triangulation Station FERNALD HILL 1870N 44° 18.130' W068° 18.858' |
...Eyelevel view of the bolt set into bedrock. It's small and difficult to spot! |
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...This sign is near the station and, though worn and damaged, can still be read. |
...There were no views today! At least the trees were somewhat colorful in the fog. |
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...View of the station bolt and both reference marks. The white arrow indicates the station, the blue arrow indicates RM2, and the yellow arrow indicates RM1. |
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...NGS Reference Mark Disk FERNALD HILL 1870 RM1N 44° 18.131' W068° 18.856' |
...RM1 is the closest mark to the Flying Mountain summit sign. |
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...An eyelevel view of RM1 ... looking generally E into the fog. |
...Looking N from the station toward RM1, which Rich indicates. |
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...NGS Reference Mark Disk FERNALD HILL 1870 RM2N 44° 18.131' W068° 18.855' |
...Eyelevel view of the RM set into the bedrock ledge. |
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...Looking E toward RM2 (indicated by blue arrow) from the station (indicated by white arrow). |
...Looking WNW toward the summit sign from RM2. |
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